Filter.



No. 818,698. PATENTED APR. 24, 1906. L. W. JONES.

FILTER.

APPLICATION FILED APR.13.1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES. 21" Q 7' INVENTOR.

PATENTED APR. 24, 1906.

L. W. JONES.

FILTER.

APPLICATION FILED APR.13, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

t w INVENTOR. l (J Values,

Lflr Zm WITFN/iSIQSES.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FILTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 24, 1906.

Application filed April 13, 1905. Serial No. 255,375-

To uZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LLEWELLYN W. JONES, a resident of Sewickley, in thecounty of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Filters; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to filters, and more especially to a device forstirring up the sand and water during the process of cleansing thefilter.

The chief object of my invention is to provide a stirring device whichwill withdraw itself automatically from the body of sand when the sameis allowed to settle after the stirring process, and so avoid thenecessity of leaving the stirring device embedded in the sand during thefiltering process.

To these ends my invention comprises, generally stated, in connectionwith a sand filtration-bed, a stirring device and means for withdrawingsaid stirring device automatically from the sand as the sand graduallysettles after the washing operation.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willdescribe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure 1 is a plan view of a suitable filter. Fig. 2 is a verticalsection of same. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3, Fig. 1; and Fig. 4is a detail view.

Like numerals indicate like parts in each of the figures.

In the drawings the numeral 2 designates a suitable tank or receptacleadapted to contain the filter-bed. The bottom of said tank has the ipes3 arranged therein, said pipes having t 1e nozzles 4 and said pipesconnecting with the central channel 5, within which the water iscollected and carried off to the supply-pipes. The construction of thefilterbed may, however, be of any suitable construction, and I make noclaim to this particular feature of the filter-bed.

Within the tank 2 is the sand bed 6, down through which the water passesto the nozzles 4. Secured to the inner walls of the tank 2, at asuitable height, is the trough 7, to which the water is supplied by theinlet-pipe S. This trough is annular in form and is supported by thebrackets 9. The water entering this overflows therefrom in an evenstream onto the filter-bed 6.

A vertical shaft is mounted in hearings in the casting 11, which formsthe channel 5, said shaft being protected by the tube 12. This shaft 10passes up through suitable bearings in the beams 13, which extend acrossthe top of the tank 2. To the upper end of the shaft 10 is secured thegear-wheel 14, which meshes with the pinion on the countershaft 16,mounted in the bracket 17 on the beams 13. This counter-shaft 16 has thebevel-gear 18, which meshes with the bevelpinion 19 on the horizontalshaft 20. This shaft 20 has the pulley 21, which may be connected up bya belt to a motor or other engine and by means of which power istransmitted to rotate the vertical shaft 10.

Secured to the shaft 10 is the rotary beam 22, said beam being made upof suitable angle-bars 23. Secured to the bottom of the rotary beam 22are the angle-bars 24, to which are attached the flexible nets 25.

These nets are made up of links of any suitable form. Any suitable formof mesh may be em loyed, that shown consisting of the round inksconnected by oblong links. This may be varied, however, to suitdifferent conditions.

The bars 24 project in under the trough 7, whereby the nets are adaptedalso to extend under said trough, and so extend substantially the entirediameter of the tank 2. By this construction, when stirring, even thesand under the trough is reached and thoroughly agitated. In order thatthe links of the two nets maynot move in the same planes in describingthe circle I arrange one of the nets closer to the vertical shaft 10than the other one, which is arranged correspondingly closer to thewalls of the tank. In this way the links of the nets may be said tobreak joint with each other, and so a more effective stirring of thecontents of the tank is obtained.

When my improved stirring device is in use, the water from the inletpipe8 is shut off from the trough 7 and the waste-pipe 26 is open. The waterfor washing is then admitted from below and entering the channel 5passes up through the nozzles 4 up into the filter-bed. The force of thewater acts to lift the sand and it mixes thoroughly with the water.Power is then applied to rotate the shaft 10 and through it the rotarybeam 23. As the beam rotates the nets are carried with it and act tothoroughly agitate and stir the sand and water, so that the particles ofsand are thoroughly separated and cleansed, the refuse or scum collectinthe top overflowing into the trough 7 an bemg carried off through thewaste-pipe 26. This process of stirring is continued until thefilter-bed has been thoroughly washed,whereupon the supply is cut offfrom the channel 5 below and the sand allowed to settle in the bed.During the settling process the rotation of the beam 23 is continued andthe net 25 acts to stir the settling sand, and as the sand settles in asolid mass the net gradually withdraws from the sand and rests upon thetop thereof, the different lines of links assuming a horizontal positionas the height of the sand bed increases until the sand has entirelysettled, whereupon the net will assume the horizontal position indicatedin Fig. 4. By still further continuing the rotation of the beam 23 thenet will act to drag along the upper surface of the sand and scrape orrake the same, so as to remove any impurities collected on the top ofthe sand bed.

. By this construction I am enabled to provide for the agitating orstirring of the sand and Water and provide for the gradual Withdrawal ofthe stirring device automatically as the sand settles.

If it is found that the net does not withdraw itself sufi iciently fromthe sand bed toward its inner end or adjacent to the shaft 10, a portionof the links may be cut out, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, forit is apparent that the rotation of the net will not be so rapid towardthe center as toward the outer end.

By my arrangement I dispense with the rigid stirring-arms, which do notextend underneath the trough 7 and which remain in the filter-bed duringthe filtering process. No attention need be paid to my improved stirrerafter it is put in operation, for of its own self it will act towithdraw from the mass of sand and when free therefrom will remain.A/lying upon the surface, as indicated in Fi 4.

Although I have referred in the speci cation and claims to the stirringdevices as nets, I do not wish to convey the idea that I limit myself inany Way to a net actually composed of links, but include within the termany form of flexible net-like structure by means of which the body ofwater and sand will be stirred up and the stirrer withdraw itselfautomatically as the sand is allowed to settle after washing.

What I claim is 1. The combination of a filter-bed, a stirrer therein,comprising a net formed of links, and means for withdrawing said net.

2. The combination of a filter-bed, a net extending down into saidfilter bed, and means for moving said net through said filterbed.

3. The combination of a filter-bed, a net extending down into the filterbed, and means for moving said net around a center.

4. The combination of a filter-bed, a net composed of links extendingdown into said bed, and means for moving said net around a center.

5. The combination of a filter-bed, a rotary beam, and a net dependingfrom said beam.

6. The combination of a filter-bed, a rotary beam, and a net composed oflinks depending therefrom.

7. The combination of a filter-bed having a trough extending aroundsame, a rotary net extending down into said bed and projecting undersaid trough.

8. The combination of a filter-bed, a vertical rotary shaft, a beamcarried by said shaft, and a net carried by said beam.

9. The combination of a filter-bed, a vertical rotary shaft, a beamcarried by said shaft, a net secured to said beam on opposite sides ofsaid shaft. 7

10. The combination of a filter-bed, nets comprising links extendingdown therein, means for moving said nets around a center, one of saidnets being closer to said center than the other.

11. The combination of a filter-bed, a stirrer comprising a netextending down into said bed, and means for moving said net through saidbed.

12. The combination of a filter-bed, a rotary frame, and a net carriedby said frame.

In testimony whereof I, the said LLEWEL- LYN W. J ONES, have hereuntoset my hand.

LLEWELLYN W. JONES.

Witnesses:

ROBERT C. To'rrEN, G. KREMER.

